| 1. |
- Björck, Svante, et al.
(author)
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A Holocene lacustrine record in the central North Atlantic: proxies for volcanic activity, short-term NAO mode variability, and long-term precipitation changes
- 2006
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791. ; 25:1-2, s. 9-32
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lake and peat corings on three Azores islands in the central North Atlantic, resulted in the discovery of a 6000 year long lacustrine sequence in a small crater lake, Lake Caveiro, on the island of Pico. This island is dominated by Pico mountain (2351 m), Portugal's highest mountain, and the lake site is situated at 903 in asl. Two sediment profiles, one central and one littoral, were sampled. Due to large facial shifts and disconformities in the littoral cores the analyses were concentrated on the central core; only the earliest 1000 years of the littoral core were studied to complement the central profile. We used sedimentology, geochemistry, diatom analyses, magnetic properties, and multivariate statistics, together with C-14 and Pb-210 dating techniques, to analyse the environmental history of the lake. Volcanic activity seems to have had a dominating impact on sediment changes and partly also on the diatom assemblages; a large number of tephras are found and seem to be connected with large (diatom) inferred pH variations. However, by a combination of methods, including multivariate techniques, we infer that precipitation changes can be detected through the volcanic noise. In the youngest part of the record (AD 1600-2000), with its decadal resolution, these humidity variations seem partly related to shifts in dominating NAO mode. The more long-term precipitation changes further back in time (350-5100 cal yr BP) roughly correspond to the well-known North Atlantic drift-ice variations as well as other North Atlantic records; low precipitation during drift-ice periods. We think these alterations were driven by changes in the thermolialine circulation as large-scale equivalences to the Great Salt Anomaly; low sea surface A temperatures and changes in circulation patterns of the central North Atlantic decreased the regional precipitation. Cooler/drier periods occurred 400-800, 1300-1800, 2600-3000, 3300-3400 and possibly also 4400-4600 cal yr BP,. while 300-400, 900-1000, 2000-2400, 3100-3200, 3800-4000 and 4700-5000 cal yr BP seem to have been more humid phases on the Azores. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Connor, Simon E., et al.
(author)
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The ecological impact of oceanic island colonization - a palaeoecological perspective from the Azores
- 2012
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In: Journal of Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1365-2699 .- 0305-0270. ; 39:6, s. 1007-1023
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim In many cases, human colonization drastically modified the ecosystems of remote oceanic islands before scientists arrived to document the changes. Palaeoecological records before and after human colonization provide insights into the original ecosystems and an assessment of subsequent human impact. We used pollen analysis to compare the impact of 15th century colonization of the Azores with that of natural disturbances such as volcanic eruptions and climate changes. Location Azores archipelago, Atlantic Ocean. Methods Sediment records from three highland sites in the Azores (on the islands of Pico and Flores) were dated radiometrically and analysed palynologically. Pollen taxa were classified as native, endemic or introduced based on comparison with flora lists. Data were statistically zoned and temporal trends identified using detrended correspondence analysis. Results Human colonization of the Azores resulted in rapid, widespread, persistent vegetation changes on a scale unprecedented in the last 2700 years, detectable through the decline of dominant trees, the spread of grasses and fire-tolerant species, the introduction of exotic plants, evidence for grazing and fire, and changes to soils and moisture availability. During the same period, volcanic eruptions appear to have had more localized impacts on the vegetation, lasting 5001000 years and favouring endemic taxa. The effect of late Holocene climatic changes on the highland vegetation of the Azores seems to have been minor. Palaeoecological data indicate that at least two plant species went extinct on Pico after human colonization and that some plants regarded as introduced were almost certainly part of the original flora of the islands. Despite a consistent signal of human impact, compositional differences between Juniperus brevifolia communities on Pico and Flores remained after colonization. Main conclusions Human colonization had a greater impact on the pristine vegetation of Pico and Flores than climatic changes and volcanic activity during recent millennia. The similarity between post-colonization changes on the Azores and other oceanic islands suggests a consistent pattern and scale to historical-era human impact on otherwise pristine ecosystems. These characteristics could be used to further elaborate biogeographical theory and direct conservation efforts towards species that appear most susceptible to human activity.
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| 3. |
- Köhler, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Holocene evolution of a barrier-spit complex and the interaction of tidal and wave processes, Inskip Peninsula, SE Queensland, Australia
- 2021
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In: The Holocene. - : SAGE Publications. - 0959-6836 .- 1477-0911. ; 31:9, s. 1476-1488
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents a reconstruction of the Holocene evolution of the Inskip Peninsula in SE Queensland. The peninsula links two major dune fields, the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south and K’gari (Fraser Island) to the north. Geomorphic features of this peninsula include remnant parabolic dunes, numerous beach ridges with foredunes, and a series of spits. Together these features provide insight into Holocene coastal evolution and changing marine conditions. A remnant beach ridge/foredune complex at the northern portion of Inskip may have been connected to K’gari and a river/tidal channel near Rainbow Beach township which separated it from the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south. This channel avulsed northward in the early mid-Holocene (after 8.8 ka) with spit development from the south. This was followed by a phase of beach-ridge/foredune complex development that started by ~6.7 ka. Stratigraphic evidence from the highest and best developed parabolic dunes in the northern portion of Inskip Peninsula indicates dune development from the mid-Holocene beach complex by 4.8 ka. Beach ridges with foredunes continued to prograde but notably declined in size during the late-Holocene. In the latest Holocene (<4.8 ka) many of the late-Holocene beach ridges/foredune complexes have been truncated by a re-orientation of the shoreline and longshore sediment transport has promoted the growth of the modern spit at the northern end of the peninsula. Erosive and longshore processes continue to be highly active because of tidal interactions between Great Sandy Strait and the Coral Sea. This detailed study of Inskip Peninsula’s evolution aids significantly in future coastal management decisions, and provides evidence for World Heritage Area extension for the Cooloola Sand Mass, including the incorporation of Inskip Peninsula itself. It also contributes to the global understanding to coastal evolution in an area of strong wave and tidal interaction.
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| 4. |
- Patton, Nicholas R., et al.
(author)
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Reconstructing Holocene fire records using dune footslope deposits at the Cooloola Sand Mass, Australia
- 2023
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In: Quaternary Research. - 0033-5894 .- 1096-0287. ; :115, s. 67-89
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, we assess charcoal records from eolian deposits within the Cooloola Sand Mass, a subtropical coastal dune system in eastern Australia, to determine whether they can be used as a proxy for Holocene fire history. We excavate four profiles in depositional wedges at the base of dune slipfaces (footslope deposits) and calculate charcoal concentrations for three size classes (180–250 μm, 250–355 μm, and 355 μm–2 mm) at predetermined depth intervals. Age–depth models are constructed for each profile using radiocarbon measurements (n = 46) and basal optically stimulated luminescence ages (n = 4). All records appear intact with little evidence of postdepositional mixing as demonstrated by minimal age reversals and consistent trends in charcoal concentration and accumulation rates (CHAR) among size classes. Combining all four records, we generate a ca. 7 cal ka BP terrestrial fire history that depicts distinct peaks representing periods of increased local fire activity at <0.3, 1.1–0.4, 2.2–1.6, 3.4–2.6, and 6.7–5.3 cal ka BP. Our findings parallel regional records and highlight the utility of dune footslopes as ecological and sedimentary archives. As dune fields are much more common than wetlands and lakes in semiarid and arid areas, these deposits have the potential to increase the spatial resolution of fire records globally.
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| 5. |
- Patton, Nicholas R., et al.
(author)
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Using calibrated surface roughness dating to estimate coastal dune ages at K'gari (Fraser Island) and the Cooloola Sand Mass, Australia
- 2022
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In: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. - : Wiley. - 0197-9337 .- 1096-9837. ; 47:10, s. 2455-2470
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Here we present a novel application of landscape smoothing with time to generate a detailed chronology of a large and complex dune field. K'gari (Fraser Island) and the Cooloola Sand Mass (CSM) dune fields host thousands of emplaced (relict) and active onlapping parabolic dunes that span 800 000 years in age. While the dune fields have a dating framework, their sheer size (~1930 km2) makes high-resolution dating of the entire system infeasible. Leveraging newly acquired (n = 8) and previously published (n = 20) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from K'gari and the CSM, we estimate the age of Holocene dunes by building a surface roughness (σC)–age relationship model. In this study, we define σC as the standard deviation of topographic curvature for a dune area and we demonstrate an exponential relationship (r2 = 0.942, RMSE = 0.892 ka) between σC and timing of dune emplacement on the CSM. This relationship is validated using ages from K'gari. We calculate σC utilizing a 5 m digital elevation model and apply our model to predict the ages of 726 individually delineated Holocene dunes. The timing of dune emplacement events is assessed by plotting cumulative probability density functions derived from both measured and predicted dune ages. We demonstrate that both dune fields had four major phases of dune emplacement, peaking at <0.5, ~1.5, ~4, and ~8.5 ka. We observe that our predicted dune ages did not create or remove major events when compared to the OSL-dated sequence, but instead reinforced these patterns. Our study highlights that σC–age modelling can be an easily applied relative or absolute dating tool for dune fields globally. This systematic approach can fill in chronological gaps using only high-resolution elevation data (3–20 m resolution) and a limited set of dune ages.
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| 6. |
- Williams, Michelle, et al.
(author)
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CONSTRAINING THE HISTORY OF GLACIAL LAKE GRANTSBURG
- 2011
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In: Geological Society of America abstracts with programs Minneapolis 2011.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Glacial Lake Grantsburg formed in east-central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin USA when the Grantsburg sublobe of the Des Moines Lobe dammed the St. Croix River during late Wisconsin deglaciation of the region. Rhythmically bedded silts and clays are interpreted as varves and suggest a short-lived lake (<100 years) (Johnson and Hemstad, 1998). Under the grey varved Grantsburg sediment is a layer of deltaic and fluvial sand, which was formed by the ancestral St. Croix River. Beneath these fluvial sediments are red varved silt and clay originally thought to be from Glacial Lake Grantsburg. More recent findings however, suggest it is from a separate lake, Glacial Lake Lind that formed in front of the retreating Superior Lobe (Johnson and Hemstad, 1998). Age control for the timing of Glacial Lake Grantsburg and other glacial events in the region are poorly constrained by a few radiocarbon ages. In order to provide a more accurate age control on the timing of lake formation and ice advance and retreat optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) samples were collected from sediments above and below the Glacial Lake Grantsburg clays at two sites. Age results are still pending, however preliminary OSL ages suggest that the lake drained by 11ka.
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